Will finished swabbing the deck under the blazing sun, a filthy exhausting job that everyone tried to avoid like the plague, but that he had volunteered for. He threw his scrubbing brush into the bucket and grinning in acknowledgement at Anamaria's good-natured teasing comment about women's work, he headed to the quieter end of the ship to clean himself up.

He stripped off his filthy shirt and began splashing water over his face and chest. His muscles were screaming, the water was freezing, he felt like he could happily sleep for a week, and yet...

He flicked a glance to Jack who was at the wheel talking to Gibbs and despite his exhaustion a fierce pang of longing shot through him, deep in his stomach, his body as restless and unsatisfied as it had been before he started.

Will sighed. Nope. It hadn't worked.

He scrubbed himself down more viciously than was really necessary. There seemed to be something wrong in worrying that a tricky, alluring pirate hadn't tried to seduce him but, Will thought glumly, nothing about his life had made sense from the moment Jack had bowled into it, and that wasn't even counting skeleton curses. He had left it all. His home, his work, had broken his engagement to the girl he had loved since he was a boy, and it wasn't for the call of the sea or the excitement of piracy.

He had fallen head-over-heels in love, and had thought—hoped—that his feelings weren't one-sided. He'd picked up on... something from Jack from the moment they had first met. Nothing concrete, but still tangible, glittering through his actions. A certain... spark. The way he stood a little too close, touched Will a little longer and more often than seemed really necessary, spoke to him with his voice low, like he was caressing the words before sending them out to Will's ears... It was that spark that had given him hope, that had driven him to follow the Pearl for months until he caught them up, yet in all the time he had been aboard he still wasn't anything more to Jack than a crewmember and a friend. Oh, Jack had been overjoyed to see Will, had embraced him tightly, and welcomed him aboard effusively, and at that moment Will, his heart nearly bursting with happiness, had been convinced that it was only a matter of very short time before...

Well. Before things happened. Yet here they were, nearly six months on and still nothing. At first the almost-flirting comments, the touches had been there galore, and Will, shy and unsure how to proceed had been happy to wait until the older, more experienced pirate felt it was the 'opportune moment'. Yet it hadn't worked out that way. Time had passed on and the touches, the proximity had vanished. Now if anything Jack seemed to be avoiding him. Not once had he tried to take advantage of his opportunity and that just wasn't like Jack. Will would have given up hope long ago, believing that Jack's spark for him had died out—and yet...

Jack looked. Jack looked. Looked at him as though he was dying of hunger and Will was the most delectable, delicious morsel in the world. Whatever it was between them was still there, but it had changed, become... tighter. Darker. The atmosphere was like the moments before a storm hit, dense and charged.

As though reading his mind, Jack, sensing Will's eyes on him glanced over. His gaze caught, held, darkened. Running over Will stripped to the waist, water trickling over his skin like he was just... devouring him. Like he was imagining all the things he could do to him... Will flushed, a deep pink colour that he could feel staining his cheeks and moving right down over his neck and chest, but he didn't mind Jack looking at him like that—he revelled in it...

Gibbs, who had apparently asked Jack a question, had to snap his fingers in front of his face twice to attract his attention. Jack started, snapping his eyes away from Will, and turning back to the conversation, manoeuvred so he had his back to him.

Will's flush faded, leaving him shivering under the chill of the water as he finished washing himself, his movements slow and etched with frustration.

He was so confused, he didn't know which way to turn. He had tried to accept that for whatever reason Jack didn't want things to progress any further between them, but one look from the swaying, flamboyant, wickedly gleaming pirate was enough to make his heart—and other parts of his anatomy—ache. Will didn't think he could bear feeling like this for much longer. Couldn't bear clamping down and holding back. Couldn't stand even another night alone in his cold, narrow bunk, with his bittersweet, almost painful fantasies, sleeping fitfully, wound tighter than a spring. And although Will tried to be happy with what he had, every time Jack looked at him with heat in his gaze, yet still didn't try to touch him Will could feel himself being pushed a little closer to breaking point.

***

Late that night Will headed up on deck for some much-needed quiet. Apart from Gibbs at the wheel and Cotton on look out it should be deserted on deck. The rest of the crew—minus Jack—were down below, roaring and drinking before staggering off to sleep. Usually he'd join in with them but sometimes the constant company was too much for him and he needed some space to himself. He especially needed it tonight when Jack had been glittering before him all day, drawing his eyes to him over and over until his skin felt scratchy and he was too restless to sit still for even a second. He wished they could set upon a ship, anything to burn off this excess energy, but the sea was deserted as far as he could see.

Watching the ocean soothed him though, far better than rum ever did, and this night was the kind he liked best, clear, with stars above and the moon reflected in the calm water below. However Will barely noticed any of it. Jack wasn't in his cabin as Will had thought but was leaning over the side of the ship, watching the sea, a bottle of his beloved rum in his hand. Will swallowed, feeling the aching pull of him as sharply as if Jack had yanked on a rope tied around him. He stepped over to him. To catch Jack alone was rare these days and even with all the confusion and frustration that seemed to permeate their every encounter these days it was still a million times better than being by himself.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Will asked rhetorically, as he joined Jack, gazing out at the vista laid in front of them.

"The loveliest thing I've ever seen," Jack agreed, a faint wistfulness in his voice. Will could have sworn he felt Jack's eyes lingering on him but when he turned to face him Jack was staring blandly out to the ocean. He looked relaxed, the bottle hanging loosely from his fingers, but Will knew Jack, and there was something, a resonance to his voice, a tension in the air around him. He wasn't relaxed.

He watched Jack take a long pull of his drink, and if he kissed Jack now he'd taste of rum. A heaviness seemed to descend in his stomach and between his legs at the thought. He watched Jack's throat work as he swallowed, riveted in a secret pleasure that almost hurt, knowing he was staring but not quite able to stop. Will shivered.

"Are you cold?" Jack asked.

"N-no," Will stuttered. Cold really wasn't a problem.

"So what brings you up here, young Will?" Jack sounded a little drunk. But then Jack always sounded a little drunk. "Not in the mood for the fine company of the crew?"

Will shook his head. "Not tonight, I needed to be alone for a while."

"Ah, shall I be leaving you to your solitude then?"

"No," Will said quickly. He looked at Jack, and gave him a small smile. "I don't mind you."

"Oh," Jack said quietly, and for a long—too long moment Jack looked at him, and his posture... tightened. Will's breath caught in his throat and Jack was just looking at him, how did those eyes do this to him? But then Jack pulled his eyes away.

"It's been a while since we've done this," Will said to fill the silence and keep Jack talking. He could sense Jack was about to leave, and Will wanted him to stay—for just a few more minutes. Besides, it had been a long time. When he had first come aboard he and Jack had spent hours with each other, talking, fencing training, taking a row-boat off the Pearl to explore caves and beaches, but it had tapered off sharply. Right around the time the spark had become... whatever it was now. Will couldn't say he liked it.

"Aye, it's been a busy time for us," Jack said idly. "A profitable one too," he added with a satisfied grin.

"Well, maybe now things are quiet we could take a few days away from the ship. Go on a trip of our own," Will suggested hopefully.

A look flashed over Jack's face, too fast for Will to get a fix on, but he could see his composure slip slightly in the way his fingers tightened on his bottle. Jack hesitated before speaking. "Maybe. We'll see."

"See what?"

"Just... see. You know what a pirate's life is, lad, always moving on. It doesn't do to make too many plans," Jack continued to gaze out to the sea, talking almost to himself, yet there was a harsh undertone to his voice. "Just like it doesn't do to stay too long in one place or to become too attached to any one person."

Will's heart thudded sickly in his chest. "No-one?" he asked, not looking at Jack.

"No-one," Jack affirmed positively.

"Oh," Will said numbly.

"Well," Jack said briskly, drawing Will's time with him to a close. "My bed is callin'. I'll be leaving you to your peace, young Will." He tilted the bottle at him, mocking him gently.

"Goodnight Jack," Will said, disappointment colouring his voice.

Jack waved a hand to him without turning back and Will stared after him.

What had that been? Had Jack just been rambling? But Jack never rambled without a purpose, and there had been a definite sense there of a warning being issued. A line being drawn. Perhaps despite his efforts to keep them hidden, Jack had somehow sensed just how deep Will's feelings for him were and was gently warning him that though he may desire him, certainly liked him, it went no deeper than that. Perhaps that was why Jack had never done anything. He cared enough about Will not to want to break his heart, but not enough to want anything more than one night with him.

Will writhed. If that was the case it was kindness of the most humiliating sort, and it wasn't even working. His heart felt like it was breaking anyway with Jack keeping him so relentlessly at arms length. He watched the fluttery, confusing pirate sway easily over the ship and go below. He didn't know if he could bear much more of this. He only knew one thing for sure.

//I want him//

He stared blindly out to sea in the hopes it would calm the heat streaming through his veins, or at least put him beyond caring about it. It didn't. Not at all, even though he stared for a long time.

Eventually he turned away wearily. If he didn't get some sleep tonight he'd be fit for nothing tomorrow. On his way across the ship he passed Gibbs, still at the wheel. Will had almost forgotten he was there—he'd been so discreetly silent.

"Goodnight," he called glumly.

Gibbs looked at him thoughtfully. "Ah, Will. Might I ask, how did you find Jack tonight?"

Will paused. "Confusing," he said wearily. "The same as ever."

Gibbs nodded slowly. "Aye. I think something's on his mind at the moment, but he won't say what. He's always played his cards close to his chest," he said idly, without looking at Will. "Like, for example when Jack first got the Pearl back and we left Port Royal—and all who lived there—behind, well Jack he had us run ragged there for a while. Wouldn't tell anyone why, but he was almost demented."

Will snorted. "Jack's always been demented."

Gibbs shook his head. "In a cunning way, not like he was then. He was taking insane risks, almost tearing the ship to shreds trying to make her move that fast. In the end I had to say to him, whatever it was that was under his skin there was no point in making the Pearl and her crew pay for it. He calmed down, it was just about the time you joined the crew."

Will looked at Gibbs sharply but Gibbs was still gazing out to sea.

"He... said he was glad to see me," Will said at last.

"Of course he was," Gibbs said, still idly. "And that you can believe. Tricky with pirates sometimes to work out what is true and what isn't. You don't want to be believing everything a pirate says. Sometimes he tells the truth in other ways. Well, good night Will."

Will's brow creased and he looked at Gibbs a moment longer, but it seemed he had said all he was going to say on the subject. "Yes," he said slowly. "Good night."

***

Will went down below thoughtfully. Part of him wanted to go back on deck and ask Gibbs what exactly he was trying to say, but he balked at the thought. He wanted Jack, loved Jack so much it almost frightened him, and it was too private, too precious to him to openly discuss.

He stripped off his clothes and lay on his narrow hammock, trying to put Jack out of his head, to fall asleep, but the next moment he was thinking of him. His dark hot eyes, the way he'd looked at Will today, tonight, a million other times. The way he moved, the lithe form of his body, his...

And then. That was the moment. Almost sick with hunger for him and half-hard, months of frustration had built and built and Will's resolve, his pride, his control, finally snapped. He threw himself off his hammock in desperation. He couldn't bear this—not for another second. If Jack wanted him, even if it was only for one night, then by God Will was going to take it. Even the misery of having him once and being left hollow and hurting in the morning had to be better than this ache that was in Will's very bones If he could only have one night—just one, where he could have Jack, taste him, be under him—on top of him—any damn way he wanted, Will could live on that.

Before he was even aware he was doing it he threw on a pair of breeches and a shirt and padded silently in his bare feet to Jack's cabin. Although all the reasons this was a bad idea were streaming through Will's head, put them all together and they still couldn't match up to the wave of need rolling through him, pushing him onwards.

A low light showed under the door of Jack's cabin, and Will could hear him pacing back and forth inside. Maybe planning out who to ransack for their next booty. His heart in his mouth he knocked on Jack's door, and a moment later the pirate answered throwing the door open swiftly.

//Oh God// Will's mouth went dry as he stared speechlessly at Jack. He had only ever seen Jack swathed in fabric before but now he was only clad in a pair of breeches, and his body was gleaming in the soft cabin light, all on display for Will to see.

Rangy.

Bronzed.

Ink was etched into his skin, Will suddenly burned to trace the lines with his tongue, and learn if they tasted different to the rest of him. His nipples were small and tight and dark. He wanted to put his mouth on them. Wanted to circle them with his thumbs, wanted to...

"Will? What is it?" Jack glanced around almost wildly as though worrying they were under attack.

"Nothing," Will struggled for words, trying not to stare at the way the light caught the swell of the muscles in Jack's torso. "—nothing's wrong with the Pearl. Can I come in?" He said it all wrong, jumpy and too fast, betraying his nerves. Jack picked up on it of course, a shadow of concern passing over his face.

"By all means," he gestured Will into his cabin, and Will slipped in, trembling with nerves and trying to keep his movements slow and unthreatening, because he was basically cornering Jack, and Jack did not like to be cornered. "Is something amiss?"

Will side-stepped the question, grasping for some threads of composure. "I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake any of the crew. I thought we could have a drink. I always know there's rum in your cabin."

"Oh," Jack looked a little surprised and ran his tongue around his lips in a thoughtful gesture that sent a shock straight to Will's groin. "Never let it be said I refuse a drink, but I'm not certain that's the best idea, young Will—"

"Stop calling me that!" Will said testily. "I'm not a child, I'm a grown man."

There was a tiny pause where Jack's eyes flickered over him, lingering on the open neck of his shirt, at the skin of his throat and Will thrilled to his heart to see the slight flare of colour that slashed over Jack's high cheekbones. "So you are," Jack agreed his voice low, slightly rough, as though he'd forgotten his habitual drawl.

"So we can have a drink, since we're both..."—Will paused slightly and swallowed—"...up."

Jack's gaze sharpened suspiciously but Will returned his gaze without flinching and after a moment Jack nodded, though he looked extremely unhappy about it. "A drink then, and then to bed. Your bed. I mean you go back to your quarters, and..." Jack cleared his throat, busying himself with finding the rum. Will almost smiled at seeing the usually bewildering Captain in a fluster of his own for once. They sat down on Jack's bed. On opposite ends, but still on the bed. Jack settled against the pillows with his customary ease of bearing, his beads glinting.

"So why can't you sleep?" he asked, taking a deep drink—even more than he normally did—and offering Will the bottle. Will used the pretence of reaching for the bottle to shuffle a little closer to him. "What's on your mind?"

'You' would have been the honest answer, but Will couldn't tell him that. He shrugged, taking a sip and passing it back to Jack. Trying not to give away his longing with a look. He had to approach this carefully, despite the fact his mouth was dry and his stomach was rolling with want. Patience, patience, like forging a sword, try to do it too quick before the metal was ready and it would all be ruined. "Nothing, I'm just... restless."

"We'll be in port soon," Jack said, not meeting his eyes, seeming to find his bottle fascinating—even more so than usual. "Plenty there to help you relax."

"Jack you know I'm not interested in those... women," Will said truthfully. Even the prettiest girl wouldn't remotely tempt him, not when all he could think of was Jack with his insouciant lounge and drawl that set Will's teeth on edge and his body aflame. Oh, God, why did he have to feel this way? Jack passed him back the bottle and Will shifted the tiniest bit closer again. "I suppose you'll be visiting them though," Will tried to sound light-hearted, but the thought gave him a sharp, aching pain in his stomach. He tried to push it the thought of Jack with someone else out of his head, not to think of tomorrow, just tonight, when he was the one with Jack.

He drank and passed the bottle back.

Jack sighed. "Sadly I don't have the enthusiasm I used to."

"Really?" Will's heart rapidly began to shoot up from where it had sank. The bottle was passed back to him and Will let his fingers briefly trail over Jack's as he took it. Jack's fingers flexed reflexively against his before hurriedly pulling away.

"Aye, girls and their trinkets wear thin."

Will's stomach was fluttering wildly as he nervously licked his lips. "Maybe you should try something different. Maybe you should try someone you don't have to pay." He flushed as he spoke, feeling unbelievably gauche.

Jack snorted. "'Tis my enthusiasm that's the problem, not whether they want a trinket or not."

"I'm not talking about the tavern women," Will swallowed. Every muscle in his body was screaming and tense. "I'm talking about a friend."

Jack turned to look at him sharply and Will felt his skin heat up until it was almost burning, but didn't look away, because he could see that at least part of the reaction in Jack's eyes was a fast, hard wave of want before it darkened and drew back into stubbornness. He had to break through that...

He cleared his throat a little. "I've been thinking that maybe—" He paused for a drink of rum. Jack's eyes were unwillingly fixed on his mouth as he drank and he deliberately let a drop trickle from his mouth. He raised his thumb to wipe it away, licking it slowly clean. Jack's eyes were blown wide, the pupil almost swallowing the brown, and it was hotter than the rum burning in his stomach. "—maybe you should look a little closer to home for your pleasures." He set the bottle down and shifted closer again—too close for any misunderstanding.

Jack's jaw was suddenly iron-clad. "What d'ye think you're doing, Will?"

Will swallowed. Was it wrong that when Jack's eyes blazed like that it sent another rush of heat to pool in his already half-hard cock?

"What do you think?"

"Don't try to slip out of answering the question."

"But I learnt from the best," Will almost felt like giggling, because Jack's eyes were awfully hot, and despite the tension zinging between them he wasn't moving away.

"Will—" Jack growled warningly, an edge of bright steel in his voice.

For a manic second Will considered saying; 'If you don't know, I must be doing it wrong', but discounted it in case Jack's patience snapped and he grabbed a sword and ran him through. Instead he gathered his courage and chose the honest answer.

"I'm trying to seduce you," Will said quietly.

Jack inhaled sharply and Will lifted a shaking hand to touch him, but Jack's hand snapped up and caught his wrist hard—halting Will before he could touch him. Will flinched but he didn't try to free his hand from Jack's vice-like grip.

"Do you think that's wise? Seduction is a dangerous game to play, young Will," Jack said, slightly mockingly. "I suggest you put the idea out of your head before you get more than you bargained for."

"I'm not playing games, and I don't want to put the idea out of my head. I can't," he added desperately, trembling, but refusing to give an inch.

Jack's breath was coming fast now, they were almost nose-to-nose, breathing in each others air, neither willing to back down and there wasn't a single part of Will that didn't need to be touched.

"You don't know what you want."

Will's hackles rose and all the frustrated, scratchy feelings that he'd been clamping down on for months burst free. "I'm not a child and I'm not a fool! I know what I want, and I know you want me—I've seen the way you look at me!"

"I might look at you," Jack acknowledged tightly. "But it doesn't mean I'm going to reach for you."

"Then I'm reaching for you."

"And I'm stopping you."

"Don't," Will tried to sound in control but it came out with a pleading edge he couldn't eliminate. He couldn't help it, he wanted this man—this pirate so badly his stomach was in knots and he felt like he might just die if he didn't get to touch him, taste him. "Don't stop me Jack, please—" Begging? Yes, fine he would beg if he had to. Uncertainty flashed over Jack's face and he closed his eyes briefly as though Will pleading was just too much to bear. His grip on Will's wrist weakened a little.

"Will, stop," and now it was Jack's voice that had the pleading edge. Along with something else. Something that made his 'stop' sound like 'please don't stop'. "It's not going to happen."

"Yes, it is," Will whispered using his free hand to trace up Jack's arm, over his shoulder. Jack didn't try to stop him and his skin was every bit as smooth as it looked and oh, so hot... "Let it happen. Let me touch you—I want to so much, it doesn't have to be more than tonight—"

All at once Jack's eyes flashed, and he released Will in a vicious movement, standing up and moving away so quickly Will felt the shock of cool air rush to fill the space where Jack had been. For a moment something flashed over Jack's face. Sadness? Anger? But it was gone before Will could pin it down and Jack's eyes were opaque again, with his customary mask firmly in place. "It's tempting Will," he drawled, giving him a tiny bow. "And don't think I'm not flattered but I must decline."

"I'm offering you what you want, Jack!" Will almost howled, scorched with embarrassment. Ye Gods, even when he offered him passion with no hope for more, he still refused. What was it going to take? "What kind of pirate doesn't take his desire when it's offered?"

"The kind that knows that some treasure comes with a hefty price!"

"What price?" Will asked in bewilderment.

"A price I'm not willing to pay. Now get out—"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Will snapped, standing up, eyes flashing.

"You will—" Jack shook his head with a snarl, as though angry with himself that he couldn't get his words out right. "You are. Leaving. Now."

"No. You want this to happen," Will said stepping closer to him, pitting his will against Jack's and watching him draw back and tense up. He fought off the urge to just throw him on the bed and take what he wanted until Jack gave up his protests, but that verged perilously on force, and Will didn't have that in him. He flicked his eyes to Jack's swollen crotch. "You can't deny it."

"No, I can't," Jack spat. "Does that make you happy?"

"Not really," Will said, a hard edge to his voice, but God, they had been dancing around this for too long and he couldn't take it anymore. "But I have a few things in mind."

He suddenly pushed Jack against the wall, he hit it with a thud and Will pinned him there with his body. "Things like this—" he ran a trail of biting kisses over his throat, tasting the hot, salty skin, Jack shuddered under his mouth, gasping sharply. "—and this—" he did what he'd been waiting about a hundred years to do and bucked his hips, sending his hard cock skittering over Jack's, grinding with a sweet, frantic movement that was just perfect. He moaned and Jack made a beautiful sound in his throat, throwing his head back and knocking it hard on the wall, but he didn't seem to care. His hands fluttered up to catch Will's shoulders, maybe to push him away, but where they caught they held, gripping him tightly.

Well. He hadn't said he couldn't use a little force.

But all at once Jack shoved him away. "Alright, Will!" he snarled suddenly, his eyes for once readable, agonised and distraught. "Have some mercy in you, will you? I admit you are as lovely a creature as I've ever seen and I can't deny I... think of you. But you're too lovely, too dazzling. Like that cursed gold. I have you for a brief while and lose you and I'll be left a miserable shadow of a man with nothing left inside me. And that's why I can't touch you."

A starburst of understanding flashed open in Will's head. "My God," he said in a stunned voice. "You're frightened." It seemed incredible that someone who took as many chances with his life as Jack did was frightened to take a chance with his heart, but the truth was in every tense line of his body drawn up as tight as a bow, and in the desperate, unhappy yearning in his eyes. And if Jack was frightened of losing him then that meant that Jack... That Jack... Will could hardly finish the thought, it was almost too much to hope for, but that Jack... cared.

Jack glared at him. "Remember who you're talking to lad, Captain Jack Sparrow does not get frightened!"

"Then why are you trembling?" Will asked in a low voice, moving closer to him. Jack squirmed as though he wanted to step away but didn't want to let Will know he was that spooked.

"I—I'm not," Jack stuttered. Trembling.

"Yes, you are," Will moved closer. Warm, wildly happy feelings were welling up inside him. So close now, he could see the flutter of Jack's eyelashes and feel the warmth radiating off him. Without trying to touch him in any other way Will took Jack's hand. For once Jack's quick tongue seemed to have deserted him, his eyes flickered over Will uncertainly.

"Jack, I know it's frightening, it is for me too—I want you so much I can't think straight," Will felt a surge of desperation. It was almost painful saying it out loud, trying to put his feelings into words that were so inadequate, they could never come close to describing the passionate, protective, almost fierce love that burnt in his blood. Will gripped Jack's arms tightly and tried again. "I'm never going to leave, I'm not going to get bored and move on," he said forcefully. "I'll be here tomorrow and every day after—"

Jack shook his head, cutting him off. "They're fine words to be sure, but words are cheap—I twist them everyday, break them and re-make them as it suits me. I can't trust words—"

"It's not just words, Jack. If I didn't want to be with you would I have left everything behind, followed you for months, joined your crew and come to your cabin tonight, offering myself for one night because I thought that was all I could hope for from you? Do you understand now? You have me, Jack. Now are you going to take a chance and let me in, or send me away and make us both miserable? Because either way, I'm still yours."

"Oh," Jack breathed, his dark eyes luminous.

"It's up to you now," Will said, his whole body trembling. "What are you going to do?"

Jack's eyes flared suddenly and in one of his mercurial change of moods, in a movement so fast all Will felt was a rush of air and the thud as he landed, Jack shoved Will flat on his back on the bed and straddled him, pinning him down.

"Jack, what...?" Will stuttered, his heart pounding, wondering frantically if he'd deeply insulted Jack somehow, maybe he'd misread the whole situation...

"We're going to make an agreement Will," Jack said fiercely. "I'm going make this nice and clear for you. I'm goin' to give you to the count of three to leave, and if you don't I'm going to spend all night making. You. Scream. Because you are very beautiful and I want you very much, but I'm never goin' to let you go afterwards, and if you try to go I'll kill you. So if you don't want forever with me then you've got till three to leave—d'you savvy?"

Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside Will, because even now Jack was a pirate to the core, talking as though this was all his idea, as though Will hadn't just poured his heart out to convince him, hadn't spent the last few months dreaming of this... or something like this. His daydreams had never been like this, but he didn't care because this was real and it was happening and he didn't laugh, because Jack was on top of him, blazing down at him and Will couldn't quite get a grip on his mind...

"Oh yes," Will gasped, his hips lifting restlessly. "I understand."

Jack made a tiny helpless sound like a bitten-off moan in the back of his throat.

"One," he began in a low, tense voice.

Will felt his stomach clench in a way that had nothing to do with the rum, and everything to do with the hot, frantic roll of want swooping inside him.

"Two," Jack's hands were tight on Will's wrists pinning them to the bed. Even if he'd wanted to leave he couldn't have, not without a struggle. Cheating pirate. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to leave. Heat was rushing wildly through his body, throbbing frantically in his swollen cock and Jack's erection was burning against his. Will could feel his eyes darkening as he looked up at Jack and deliberately licked his lips slowly—thoroughly—as though he just couldn't wait to taste Jack. Jack's eyes darkened desperately and his breath hitched.

"T-three," Jack stumbled over the word, saying it a little too fast as though he just had to get it over with as quickly as he could. For a timeless moment they looked at each other as Will stayed still, breathing heavily and in that moment he saw the last remnants of Jack's control shatter in the split-second before he just—slammed his mouth to Will's in a blistering kiss. An attack of hot lips and thrusting tongue, plundering Will's mouth like the pirate he was and Will was taking just as much back, kissing him just as demandingly, just as desperately. Everything was rocking and Will didn't know if it was the ship or just himself. His head was whirling, his heart thudding triple time, there was no air in his lungs and he didn't care because Jack was lying on top of him, pressed against him, kissing him like he'd been waiting all his life to do it, kissing him as though Will was the air he craved. And nothing, no gentle, passionless kiss with Elizabeth had ever been like this—this kiss that was zinging through his blood, setting him aflame, releasing all the passion they'd kept pent-up for so long. Jack was kissing his lips, his cheekbones, kissing all over his face, down his throat and back to his lips again. Will could taste the tang of blood in his mouth and the spice of the rum in Jack's mouth, was almost drunk on it, and God, he was never going to be able to drink rum again without getting hard...

He was nearly sobbing with gratitude, laughing with joy that this was finally actually happening, but there just wasn't time because Jack's hands were tearing at the buttons on his shirt, ripping it off and snaking his hand down to open his breeches and Will was clutching Jack to him, arching up wantonly into his hands, refusing to let him stop for even a second, opening his legs to feel Jack's hardness grind into his, because God, he had waited so long for this. And no fantasy could ever measure up to the actual sensation of Jack's hands on him, sliding over him, hot and frantic and real...

"God, Jack," he ground out as Jack began kissing over his chest, with sweet tiny bites at his nipples, pulling his breeches off, freeing his hardness. It was all nearly over for him just by the way Jack's breath caught when he looked at him, spread out and waiting, and when Jack lay back down on top of him, naked chest to naked chest it felt like part of him he didn't even know he had been missing had finally come home.

"Ja-Jack..."

"God, I want you," Jack hissed, staring down at him, panting heavily. "What have you done to me, darlin'? I can't control meself, I'm helpless against you. I want you so much I want you in me so deep I can taste you. I want to suck you until you scream. I want to bend you over my bed and ride you until you weep for more."

Will gave a hitching, helpless gasp, a fresh lightening-bolt of desire leaping through him and suddenly he was driven, frantic to taste Jack, to do everything ever imagined that two people could do together and more besides. He rolled until Jack was under him sliding down to kneel between his legs, ripping at his breeches, tearing them off, momentarily knocked almost dizzy by the sight of his lean thighs and dark curls and his taut, quivering cock arching up towards his mouth as though it knew just where it wanted to be. He wanted that in his mouth—wanted to make Jack feel so good—wanted this moment so much he was shaking and he couldn't quite believe it had taken him this long to get between Captain Jack Sparrow's legs. He kissed up Jack's thigh, over his prominent hip bones and took a moment to catch his breath, his mouth hovering over Jack's long, wicked-looking cock. He glanced up, Jack was watching him, breathing fast, his eyes just... blazing. Will opened his mouth and licked a hard line from bottom to top. Jack gasped and Will opened wide—then wider, and took him in. The salty-sweet taste of skin was on his tongue and Jack stiffened with a muffled curse. The sound shot through Will like liquid fire—oh God! Jack was in his mouth desperate for more. Suddenly there was nothing in the world more important than hearing that sound again. And again. Nothing that mattered more than hearing Jack's breath, harsh and fast, or discovering that using his tongue like that and sucking like this made Jack moan and when Will let his teeth very lightly scrape over him Jack gripped the edge of the bed very tightly and arched his supple back. Jack's hands tangled in his hair, pushing him down urging him to take in just a little more and he obeyed, falling into a rhythm. Jack's hips started thrusting helplessly, further into his mouth and Will didn't mind, liked it, wanted Jack to use him, wanted all Jack's habitual drawling and swaying to dissolve under the pleasure of his mouth, wanted to make Jack lose it, feel it—the heat, the pressure, liked hearing the babble that flew from his lips;

"Oh, Will—fuck yes, yes, just like that, keep going luv, don't stop, oh you are so good at that—can't believe I didn't know... can't believe I waited this long—oh yes, Will, that's it darlin'..."

A sudden inhale and clenching in his hair warned Will a split second before. He held onto Jack more tightly than ever and then Jack was yelling, thrusting helplessly and coming in his mouth. Will couldn't have pulled away if his life depended on it.

When Jack's tremors had eased a little Will swallowed some, let more dribble out and sat back on his heels looking at the pirate splayed out on the bed, tasting him in his mouth and felt... dirty. In a wonderfully wicked way that he needed more—a lot more—of.

He slid up kissing Jack's still trembling body all the way up, pausing to lap at responsive nipples along the way until their mouths met again and Jack kissed him with grateful enthusiasm then pulled away, shaking his head a little as though he'd been underwater, looking at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Did I—was that...?" Despite what he had just done Will still felt his cheeks flame as he trailed off.

"It was," Jack said breathlessly. "You're—that was—you know what you're doing alright. Such a pretty, clever mouth you've got there."

Will felt himself flush with pride and wondered crazily if his blood would ever get tired of racing around his body. Giddily happy despite the fact his own erection was stone hard and making him feel frantically achy and edgy. Jack's eyes raked him appreciatively, blatantly admiring his form.

"Now then," Jack said languidly—of course he could afford to be languid, Will thought ironically—he'd just had a rather... explosive release of tension. "What can we do for you?"

Will swallowed as ideas flashed through his head in a fast stream and he throbbed in response, a sight that made a fresh flare of desire flash through Jack's eyes. Right then Will didn't care what happened as long as Jack was touching him. "I—you—"

"Shh, luv." Jack placed a finger on his lips, then took it away and placed a kiss on them instead. Will would never get tired of kissing Jack. "I have a few things in mind," Jack grinned wickedly as he repeated what Will had said to him earlier and Will's heart skipped a beat, then gave three in rapid succession to make up for it. Jack kissed him again, groping blindly in the drawer of the table beside his bed until he found whatever he was looking for.

"I know why I didn't say anythin'. Why did it take you so long to come to me?" Jack asked panting, as he eventually pulled away from the kiss.

"Oh, I don't know..." Will shifted uncomfortably. "When you didn't do anything and started pulling away, I didn't think you really wanted me—I mean you're so..." he gestured a little helplessly trying to encompass the beads and the fabric and the whole swaying, flamboyant, lure of him. "And I'm..." he dropped his hand, shrugging a little. "Well... not."

Jack shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, luv, don't you know? You are beautiful, you are mouth-watering. You are the greatest treasure I have ever won, and I'm the lucky one." He paused, a flash of uncertainty in his eyes, all mannerisms dropped as he looked at him. "I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not easy to live with. Are you certain? Forever is a long time."

"Jack, of course I'm certain," Will threaded his fingers through Jack's hair, holding his face, trembling. "Of course I am, Jack I lo—"

"Wait," Jack stopped him and Will bit his lip, dropping his eyes. Despite having Jack against him a sick feeling thudded in his stomach. He'd said too much—"Look at me," Jack said in a low voice. "Will, look at me." Will reluctantly raised his eyes to Jack's, trying to hide his churning misery. Jack's eyes locked on his and Jack's hands gripped his face in a fierce hold that felt oddly tender. "Say that when you're inside me."

The words shot through him, lighting him up like a fire. "Really?" Will stammered. "I mean you want me to—really?"

In answer Jack handed Will the small bottle of oil he had pulled out of the drawer and lay back on the bed, letting his legs fall open.

Will shuddered. Hard. "Ohhhh," he moaned. A low drawn-out aching sound and for a moment his brain just upped and left. He didn't even have the ability to move, he just stared at Jack so sweetly waiting for him, searing the image into his mind forever. Then all at once he couldn't wait—every moment before he slid into Jack felt like an eternity of wasted time. He dripped oil clumsily over his fingers and trailed his hand low—then lower again to flick at Jack's entrance. Had to take a breath and force himself not to rush this, not to hurt Jack.

"Have you done this before?" Jack asked, his voice tense.

Will nodded. "A long time ago—I was barely more than a lad really and we were both lonely. It only lasted a few months."

Jack looked a little jealous but Will knew how to distract him. Circling it and Jack let out a small sound. Pushed in with a finger and he might just come right now, just from feeling Jack's hot body grip his finger. He slid it in and out, stretching him, getting him ready. Crooning nonsense to him, telling him how lovely he was, how tight and hot, how badly he wanted to be inside.

"Oh," Jack said, his hips beginning to rise restlessly, his voice surprised and a little shaky. "Oh."

"Is this... do you want me to stop?" Will whispered, trying to hold back from coming, wanting this so much his stomach was knotted inside.

"No—" Jack sounded very young for a moment, a little shocked, but not, as far as Will could tell, regretful. He pressed in with another shaky finger trying to get his body to obey him because everything felt so hot and thick and confusing. Scissoring his fingers inside, crooked and pushed and... Thank the Maker, found what he was looking for because—

"Christ, Will!" Jack nearly leapt off the bed and Will felt a surge of triumph, letting his fingers push that spot again and again. "Well," Jack's voice was surprised and shaky, as his cock began to rise heroically to the challenge under Will's ministrations. "That's very interesting."

Jack's hips began to rise up into him, trying to take his fingers in deeper, pushing back against them. Will was shaking. Now, this was going to happen right now. Jack whimpered in protest as Will took his fingers away, rising his hips up to chase them and Will moved between his legs, letting his cock slide against his entrance, not pushing, just rubbing, getting him used to it, making him want to open up and take it... //not going to do this wrong, not going to do this wrong// and Jack was moaning, whimpering, trying to push back and take it in and it was the single most incredible thing Will had ever seen in his life.

"Ready?" Will asked, and his voice was trembling.

"Yes," Jack's voice was all tight and dark, his body jerking fitfully against Will as though he. Just. Couldn't. Wait. "Do it, you tease."

Will surprised himself with a breathy laugh. "Not teasing. I never tease..." And he began to push in, pausing as Jack stiffened, inhaling sharply with pain.

"Easy," Will breathed. "Easy Jack, God. God you're so hot and tight, and I don't want to hurt you..."

"Hurt me," Jack ground out, his voice intense and harsh. "Hurt me as much as you want, just put it in, please Will." And fuck Jack was begging him... The sound shot straight to his cock and Will couldn't hold back a second longer if his life depended on it...

He sank into Jack, deeper and deeper and oh.

Yes.

Hot. Slick. Tight.

And oh, the feeling, the sweet slide of skin against skin and their bodies beginning to move together. The pressure and the pleasure and ohgoditssogood how the hell has he done without this for so long? Jack's eyes were wide and hazy, his mouth in an 'oh' of pleasure. Will realised with a shock that he was gripping Jack's hips so tightly he'd be bruised tomorrow but judging by the way Jack was writhing under him, wrapping his legs around him to pull him in deeper, he didn't care.

He fell forward until he was leaning on his forearms on either side of Jack's head, letting his fingers touch his black hair, covering Jack, rammed up deep inside him, Jack's smooth hot skin all pressed against him, and his mouth next to his. Will's mouth fell open as they began to move, gasping and moaning and his body was full of brilliant, almost painful sparks and how could he have lived his whole life without feeling this...

"Now, luv," Jack said, his voice shaky and pleading. "Tell me now."

"I love you, Jack," Will panted, the words rushing from his mouth as though they just couldn't stay in a moment longer. "I love you, I do."

Jack gasped and began rising to meet him harder, faster, planting light kisses over his throat. Will cried out, his hips snapping faster. "I love you too, Will," Jack ground out, his fingers biting into Will's shoulders, watching him almost fiercely. "Been so stupid. Didn't mean to hurt ye, luv—"

"It doesn't matter," Will gasped, moving deeper into him than ever, wild, burning joy welling up in his heart. "Nothing matters now..."

"Love you so much, and that's a promise now, luv, a promise made with more than words. It's made with this—" he kissed Will hard on the mouth "—and this—" he clenched himself around Will's cock tighter than ever and Will inhaled sharply. "—and we belong to each other now—say you want to—"

"I—oh!—I do, I want to Jack—"

And he was Jack's now and Jack was his and Will was surrounded by him, and he almost thought he must have died, because surely this was heaven? And all that mattered was thrusting into Jack faster, hitting that spot inside him over and over making him cry out and grip him tighter, and Jack was losing it, driving himself onto Will faster, harder, getting close...

"God Will, so good, so glad, couldn't ever do without you now luv, love feeling you inside, love you fucking me, love you..."

And all at once Will couldn't wait another second to see Jack come. He licked his hand and slid it down to wrap around Jack's straining, dripping erection, fisting it tightly.

"Oh, Will that's... that's so good..." And with an amazing keening sound, Jack threw his head back, beads clinking, showing the long lovely line of his throat, coming with an all over body shudder all over Will's hand, beating him to the finish by moments. //Leave it to you Jack// Will thought crazily and a laugh caught in his throat that sounded almost like a sob, and Will couldn't tell the difference anymore because he was inside Jack and he was losing it. Beside himself and incoherent, lights flashing in front of his eyes, and then just when Will thought it couldn't get any better and he was going to die, and any second now he was going to...

"You know luv," Jack whispered against Will's lips each word a tangible promise sinking into his skin. "I've never let anyone else inside me."

And, instantly, with a hot rush, his blood making his thighs quiver, his hands clench, his scalp prickle, he came. And came. Hard and shaking into Jack, muffling a scream into his shoulder.

***

They lay side-by-side on the bed panting heavily. Will's body was humming with the aftermath, he had never in his life felt so good. He felt like he was flying and would never, ever come back down. Jack lay on his arm and Will didn't think he'd ever heard a more perfect sound than Jack huffing and gasping next to his ear, or felt anything better than Jack's exhausted, sweaty weight lying on his arm. He was slowly cutting off the flow of blood, making his arm go numb and Will didn't give a damn as long as Jack stayed right there, forever. Will turned to look at him. Jack's eyes were open and gleaming, flicking over him with an almost gleeful glint. He was smiling without a wicked twist or a calculating crease and it was a look Will hadn't seen there for a long time—not since he'd first caught up with the Pearl. Genuine happiness. He loved that expression on Jack's face. He wanted to make it appear there a lot more.

Jack slid a hand over his chest, for apparently nothing more than the simple pleasure of touching him. He was pressing against him easily and, oh yes. Lots of the good kind of sparks were flying between them.

"So," Jack said at last, still breathless but infusing the words with warmth. "You know this means I'll never let you leave."

Will gave a breathless laugh and picked up one of Jack's hands, pressing a kiss to the palm as their eyes met in a wordless promise. "I'm counting on it."

End